It has been a long time since summerfest, the great majority of which has been spent at Chicago's storied Solid Gold Hits studios, more widely known as Henry's Solid Gold Basement.  In the intervening months, we have also said bon voyage to drummer and all around nice feller Shawn Rios and have welcomed to the group miracle percussionist and frequent bringer of drinks to practice, Quin Kirchner.

The product of these efforts is our soon to be released EP, Lie to Your Face, provisionally availiable on snocap, teasingly availiable on myspace and soon to be availiable all over the world, but mostly wherever we happen to be playing a show at that moment on really super-duper cool 12" 45 RPM vinyl.

We are as of today reliably informed that our records are being baked in the record oven and we are tentatively announcing a release date of really soon.  In the mean time, we had a pretty super-duper time finding our legs (with the help of some very good friends) at Sub T the other night and look forward to rocking your face's asses, or alternatively, having a really personal, one of a kind interactive experience with you at Double Door and Metro.  Whatever you're into, you know?

-S&A

Click on the link below.  Much thanks once again to Chris and Colleen Catania.

http://www.ink19.com/issues/march2007/interviews/slingsArrows.html

Big thanks to Mary Kroeck at the Chronicle. 

Slings & Arrows were also featured the previous night on Q101 radio's "Crash Test" show, where the band stopped by for a chat as they spun a couple tracks off their EP.  The night's playlist also included new tunes from LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire, and The Killers.

Click on the link below.
http://www.columbiachronicle.com/paper/arts.php?id=3500

Slings & Arrows preview

Posted on February 21st, 2007 in Stage Buzz, Weekly by IE

Slings & Arrows
Schubas, Chicago
Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Chicago's Slings & Arrows have a knack for choosing poor monikers — they used to be Public Four — but more than make up for it with a shadowy dream pop/slow-motion pyrotechnic mindscrambler.

Recorded under their former name, "My Amelia" was strong enough for me to vote for it as my fourth-favorite song on my Village Voice 2006 "Pazz & Jop" poll, and the other three songs on their Animal Grammar EP were nearly equal candidates. "Amelia"'s echoy, central guitar figure crosses the night sky like the blinking lights of an airplane, until a rivalling chorus emerges from the earth to set the sky on fire. It gloriously references both Coldplay's "Yellow" and Radiohead's "Creep" but somehow sounds like it came before both, like some defunct Suede/My Bloody Valentine one-off.

Elsewhere on the EP, "Birthday" resembles the latter stages of Talk Talk, "Policeman" rattles the Marc Bolan chains, and "Mockingbird," ironically, is the least referential, creating tremendous space for itself before evoking everything from Southern rock, shoegazing, and mod R&B. Curiously, a new song posted on their MySpace page — or at least not included on the original Public Four version of the EP — "Not My War" follows this blue-eyed soul tangent and nearly runs into another hot Chicago band, Catfish Haven.

Must be some poor-band-name thing.

Lemur headline; Freer open.

– Steve Forstneger

ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER
-- Steve Forstneger's Top Tunes of 2006

1. "Daniel," Tortoise & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (Drag City)
2. "The Devil You Know," Todd Snider (New Door)
3. "Steady, As She Goes," The Raconteurs (V2)
4. "MY AMELIA," SLINGS & ARROWS (self-released)
5. "Addicted," Lloyd Banks (G Unit)
6. "There It Go! (The Whisper Song)," Juelz Santana (Def Jam)
7. "Born Secular," Jenny Lewis With The Watson Twins (Team Love)
8. "Fergalicious," Fergie (Interscope)
9. "Somethin' Stupid," DeVotchKa (Ace Fu)
10. "Crazy For Leaving," Catfish Haven (Polyvinyl)

Also, an Illinois Entertainer year-end review…

As unlikely as it seems, the first two tracks on Slings & Arrows' (formerly called Public Four) The Animal Grammar EP are two of this year's best. Hollowed out vocals and crisp guitar crank up the sleepy melody in the fiery, bittersweet "Mockingbird." It sounds like the beautiful marriage between Interpol and Echo and the Bunnymen.  The reverbed, spacey guitar crunch on "My Amelia" leads us through the heavens as Henry Brown's drugged vocals slur along for the ride.  They may have picked another poor name, but their music makes up for it. Weaving sweeping dramatic gestures with quiet, delicately composed moments of tranquility, there's something stately and mannered about their precision. Warped, blurry guitars nestle in a dreamy, psychedelic haze, and the layered instruments swirl together with Brown's low-slung drawl. It sounds messy and schizophrenic, but if The Animal Grammar EP is any indication, their full-length debut should be incredible.

-- Patrick Conlan

Much thanks to Chris Catania at Being There Magazine....

Many thanks and a few drinks to Brad Knutson at RFC.  Click below to hear the podcast which also features our single "Not My War" from The Animal Grammar EP:

http://radiofreechicago.typepad.com/reredesign/2006/10/rfc_interview_s_2.html

Nice article from Tim Shellberg via Northwest Indiana Times this morning: http://nwitimes.com/articles/2006/10/20/entertainment/entertainment/cd9d6638935cec2f8625720b005deaac.txt

Our good friends The Great Perhaps are featured in today's entertainment section of the Tribune (bravo, boys...bravo), and columnist Andy Downing quotes Rios.  Check out their record! 

LOCAL HEROES: A WEEKLY COLUMN ON MUSICIANS AND HAPPENINGS IN THE CHICAGO AREA MUSIC SCENE

Great Perhaps singer builds from a whisper to a scream

Here's a review of our recent webcast show at Subterrean.  Click below, then scroll down a bit... much thanks to Tanya Davis.

http://www.fearlessradio.com/fearless/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1238&Itemid=160